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Microsoft Businesses Software The Almighty Buck Windows IT

Microsoft's New Windows Monetization Methods Could Mean 'Subscriptions' 415

Posted by timothy from the get-this-free-duffel-bag dept.
SmartAboutThings writes Since the first version of Windows, Microsoft has offered the operating system on a initial fee purchase. But under new management, it seems that this strategy could shift into new monetization methods, a subscription-based model being the most probable one. At the recent Credit Suisse Technology Conference from last week, Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner was speaking (transcript in Microsoft Word format) to investors about the fact that Microsoft is interested in exploring new monetization methods for its Windows line of products. The company might adopt a new pricing model for the upcoming operating system, as it looks to shift away from the one-time initial purchase to an ongoing-revenue basis.
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Microsoft's New Windows Monetization Methods Could Mean 'Subscriptions' More

Microsoft's New Windows Monetization Methods Could Mean 'Subscriptions'

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  • I'm sorry (Score:5, Insightful)

    by CrackerJackz ( 152930 ) on Tuesday December 09, 2014 @01:24PM (#48556493) Homepage
    I'm sorry, I don't rent my operating systems. Or my applications for that matter. Now get off my lawn. :)

    • Re:I'm sorry (Score:4, Funny)

      by Virtucon ( 127420 ) on Tuesday December 09, 2014 @01:34PM (#48556599)

      I'm sure they'll support the traditional model and maybe come up with a catchy edition title. For example they could label it 'New Windows' for the subscription model and 'Windows Classic' for the one model people are used too. Then of course they could come up with new editions like 'Windows Zero' or 'Windows Light' just to further confuse the marketplace.

    • Re:I'm sorry (Score:5, Informative)

      by QuietLagoon ( 813062 ) on Tuesday December 09, 2014 @01:35PM (#48556613)
      Looks like I'll now be holding on to my Windows 7 licenses as long as I can.

    • Counterpoint (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Brave Guy ( 457657 ) on Tuesday December 09, 2014 @01:43PM (#48556673)

      I'm sorry, I don't rent my operating systems. Or my applications for that matter.

      Neither do I. Ticking timebombs are a complete deal-breaker for me.

      However, I would seriously consider paying a reasonable recurring fee to fund continued updates for an OS that works well for me after some sensible initial period of free support, so that OS can remain useful for a very long time and continue to support backward-compatible functionality while still keeping up with necessary compatibility and security changes as the environment around it evolves.

      Personally, I value stability more than random changes in user interfaces, and nowhere more so than in my operating system. I hate the modern trend of pushing out unreliable compulsory updates every five minutes, which don't just fix bugs or close security holes but also introduce regressions, maybe completely change the UI, or even remove functionality.

      Windows has traditionally been a shining contrast to that, and Microsoft have put in a huge amount of effort over the years to support their software for much longer than most projects do. However, it was never really commercially sensible to expect the kind of effort to be made indefinitely by Microsoft when no-one is paying them anything extra for it. The result is turkeys like Vista and Windows 8, when apparently a lot of us were much happier sticking with XP or Windows 7.

      So, I'd rather see some open, transparent arrangement where you know how long you get free updates for with the purchase and then there is a straightforward arrangement for funding more, instead of moving to some sort of lock-in/subscription model as promoted by the likes of Adobe or the "your software is more than five minutes old so we won't support you any more" model as promoted by the likes of Apple, Google and Mozilla.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by mlts ( 1038732 )

        I think Microsoft sees that the RedHat model of machine subscriptions is lucrative, and wants to go with that. The infrastructure is in place for this. All it would take is moving all machines to a KMS-like model for activation, except pointed at either a server on the LAN to authorize the activations or go to MS to pick up the activation credential.

        However, MS pretty much already has that model with SA contracts. No SA contract, then the new versions will cost a good chunk of change.

        Problem is, who is g

        • I think Microsoft sees that the RedHat model of machine subscriptions is lucrative, and wants to go with that.

          Ya, no. RedHat subscriptions and their (default) constant nagging is one reason I use Ubuntu / Mint or other Debian-based systems. Another is familiarity, but I'm actually not too old to learn new thing, just don't care to fix things that aren't broken. That said, Unity is an abomination and I'm leaning that way about Systemd, but am not willing to fight about it - yet.

      • If the price is right, and the service is right, someone will use it. I cringe at the ideal of my OS becoming deactivated because of some billing error. With most software, the thought a temporary shutdown isn't that scary, but with your OS, it is.
        • This.

          I'm tempted to do the $9.99 Office360 because it comes with five licenses, as well as five individual 1TB cloud accounts (that may become "unlimited")

          If office365 breaks, I just go to Google Docs or OpenOffice to work on stuff. If Windows breaks, I'm down for good.

        • Sure they will, but some won't, and some of the ones who do will hate you for it every day until they find a plausible alternative.

          Adobe got away with Creative Cloud because at the time there wasn't really much competition for Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. There weren't many commercial/closed source alternatives, as Corel and the like are now a shadow of their former selves. This being Slashdot, someone will suggest the GIMP, Inkscape and Scribus, and everyone who works with this kind of software professiona

    • I'm sorry, I don't rent my operating systems. Or my applications for that matter.

      I wonder how this could possibly work in the retail channel.
      Do you buy a PC with a free 1 year subscription to Windows 10 and Office?
      And then after that year it runs in safe mode 640x480 until you pony up?

      • I'm sorry, I don't rent my operating systems. Or my applications for that matter.

        I wonder how this could possibly work in the retail channel.
        Do you buy a PC with a free 1 year subscription to Windows 10 and Office?
        And then after that year it runs in safe mode 640x480 until you pony up?

        Every version of Windows since Windows 2000 has been chatty with Daddy Bill via the Internet. A small adjustment: stay paid up or Windows stops working. Or. if you want to work off-grid, they could offer a long-term lease for a higher fee where once a year you'd either dial in or receive a new activation key to type in.

        Red Hat's model is different, I believe. You don't have to activate RHEL, because the fees are for support. The average Windows home user gets local support and only updates come from Microso

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by bondsbw ( 888959 )

      If it's anything like Office, they'll offer both subscription and up-front purchase.

      If they couple the subscription with the Office subscription at reduced price, while offering standard cloud services and perhaps even XBox Live membership, now that would be enticing.

      • The situation where Office is still offered as a one time purchase is probably just transitional. It wil vanish as soon as Microsoft manages to shove the rental model down its customer's throats.

  • Maybe they should focus on... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by BladeMelbourne ( 518866 ) on Tuesday December 09, 2014 @01:27PM (#48556523)

    Maybe they should focus on reducing logging and fragmentation. I won't pay for such poorly written software again:

    http://i.imgur.com/Ulem4sP.png [imgur.com]

    • For most users the File System quality is the least of their concern.
      If it is then you probably should focus your attention on an OS with a filesystem that meets your needs.

    • good thing the systemd wanks are bringing that to Linux! w0h000!

    • I can't see anything wrong with any of the figures shown in that picture. Would you care to elucidate who's software you mean, in what way it's poorly written, and the symptoms that drew you to such a conclusion?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by cdrudge ( 68377 )

        I thought the same thing. SFC log file, some antivirus/malware, some .Net housekeeping...a page file...ZOMG! Sounds like pretty much everything that I would expect and would prefer to run while the machine is "idle" rather than do all the things when I'm wanting to use it and would prefer faster performance.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Vincent Rioux ( 3904123 )
      What a bunch of crap. Logging isn't a problem with Windows. You count as logging things like binary journaling and malware scans. If you don't want those, disable them and enjoy your unsafe workstation. Also, "fixing" things by removing logging is ridiculous - I wish my car had more info than "check engine" and I enjoy the fact that Windows (and pretty much all modern OSes) do. Now, get off my lawn, kid.

    • Write endurance is not an issue for desktop SSDs, even in power user setups. Slashdot had an article on it just a few days ago. Seriously, writing logs is not an issue, at all, with regards to the endurance of your drive.

    • Why would you care about the log files being fragmented? Do you even know what file fragmentation is, and why that image and complaints are pretty silly?

  • A black day indeed. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Fishchip ( 1203964 ) on Tuesday December 09, 2014 @01:30PM (#48556553)
    There goes all those torrents of 'WINDOWS 8 ULTIMATE X64 TIMMY EDITION FULLY ACTIVATED'.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

      Please. Those torrents are obviously trolling you already, since x64 7 is just as available.

  • Wow... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Lab Rat Jason ( 2495638 ) on Tuesday December 09, 2014 @01:31PM (#48556567)

    It's as if they are trying to boost linux downloads.

  • >> The company might adopt a new pricing model for the upcoming operating system, as it looks to shift away from the one-time initial purchase to an ongoing-revenue basis.

    This certainly follows what we've seen out of the Office and Azure product lines already, what developers are used to with MSDN subscriptions and what many enterprise customers are used to with "true-ups" with large CAL and desktop/laptop counts. However, the coming squeeze on customers locked into Microsoft is why I love the fact t

  • Consumers are cheap (Score:3)

    by r_jensen11 ( 598210 ) on Tuesday December 09, 2014 @01:36PM (#48556621)

    Consumers are cheap - this is evidenced by the number of consumers who never install a new version of Windows on their computers. How will Microsoft get people to subscribe when they buy a new computer?

    Buy this new laptop for only $499!*
    *Plus recurring $10/moy payments for the remainder of the computer's life

    Yeah, that will sell like hotcakes....

    • Re:Consumers are cheap (Score:4, Insightful)

      by jules_d'entremont ( 636535 ) on Tuesday December 09, 2014 @01:46PM (#48556707)

      Buy this new laptop for only $499!* *Plus recurring $10/moy payments for the remainder of the computer's life

      Isn't that exactly how cell phones are sold?

      • Isn't that exactly how cell phones are rented?

        Fixed that for you...
        And that is why I do NOT have a smart phone.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Gordo_1 ( 256312 )

          Well, it's great that you stick it to the man by not having a smartphone. It's less great that you and RMS are practically the only ones left.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by lsllll ( 830002 )

      I seriously doubt it'll be $10/month. Assuming a new O/S off-the-shelf costs about $80, and that a user is going to use it for 4 years, the cost is just under $2/month. MS practically gives those licenses away to OEMs, so the gross sales for MS would be about $1/month/PC. If they charge you $10/quarter they'll have tripled their revenue.

      The question is, what will subscription get you. Does it get you the opportunity to upgrade to the latest OS from MS? Or does it merely get you hotfixes? If it's just

      • Well, of course ... the monetization of the subscription model to leverage our industry leading synergies and allow us to maximize on-going quarterly revenue with a stable funding model going forward predicates that we identify the highest amount of monthly extortion fees in order to achieve the optimal outcome of maximizing shareholder value, and ensuring optimal executive compensation and hooker and cocaine acquisition funding.

        In other words, this will be set by a greedy corporation which will feel entitl

    • Re:Consumers are cheap (Score:5, Funny)

      by Richy_T ( 111409 ) on Tuesday December 09, 2014 @01:52PM (#48556787) Homepage

      It will be "Freemium". $0 for the OS then extra for items as you need them:

      $5 Clippy
      $5 That search dog/Einstein/Whatever that was
      $10 Autumn leaves wallpaper
      $15 Turn off animated window effects
      $20 Control Panel with things named as you remember them
      $30 Remove Evony advertising from dialog boxes
      $60 Start menu

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Rob Y. ( 110975 )

      Microsoft will subsidize the laptops, so the OEM's can sell em dirt cheap (and stop the Chromebook 'menace'). They get their money back over the first year and then it's all profit from then on - if users can be made to overlook the monthly fee and bite on the low introductory price.

      That's been working pretty well for the cellphone industry - not so well for cellphone consumers. I'm on a Nexus 4 through T-Mobile, so I've mostly avoided that hamster wheel, but there hasn't exactly been a stampede away from

    • The real problem will be how to get them to STOP charging you. Install linux? Too bad, you had to give them your credit card number and agree to monthly charge to buy it and they won't stop charging you. Computer died, out of warrant, and collecting dust on your shelf? Too bad, they're still hitting your credit card every month. Sell it on Craig's List? They refuse to stop charging you until the guy you sold it to gives them his credit card number.

      Linux ain't really ready for the average user's desktop yet

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dywolf ( 2673597 )

      on the contrary, it will work extremely well.
      many people can be convinced to shell out small amounts monthly rather than shelling out a large amount once.
      there is also a sizable population who has no (perceived) choice as they cannot afford the large up front cost, but can much more easily afford a small monthly hit, even though it means they end up paying more in the long run.

  • So the trend seems to be to give the OS away for free as Apple, Google, Linux (for the most part) are doing. Microsoft decides to be different any make people constantly pay for the OS instead of just paying up front. Sounds like a great plan, and I really hope it stays in the rumor realm.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Rob Y. ( 110975 )

      Or Microsoft goes into the hardware business and uses the Apple free OS model... Make way for the Linux OEM's if that ever happens.

  • Oddly enough this actually became common with Linux before Windows. Many big companies that use Linux pay for an annual RHEL subscription, even though you could use a gratis version of Linux. The current prices: without support, it's $50/yr for desktops, $180/yr for workstations, $350/yr for servers. With support, $300/yr for workstations, $800/yr for servers.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mlts ( 1038732 )

      RedHat is in an interesting niche, where it can work on an OS that is a direct downstream of what it makes as a product, and not worry about revenue.

      Two reasons: Certifications like FIPS and Common Criteria, and paid support. No company past a SOHO business is going to run production critical servers on an OS without support, especially when contracts, regulations (Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, FERPA, PCI-DSS3), or other items are involved... especially come audit time, both for licensing as well as security and

    • It is called Software Assurance. Been doing it for quite some time.

  • Jumping to conclusions (Score:3)

    by Nethemas the Great ( 909900 ) on Tuesday December 09, 2014 @01:39PM (#48556645)
    I find it highly unlikely that Microsoft would switch solely to a subscription model. There are any number of deployment contexts where machines spend their life not connected to the Internet. Not only would offline renewal be a customer service nightmare, the expense of operating it would negate any merit. Even if connected, many (most?) consumers, as well as many businesses would be highly adverse to switching from a capital purchase to a lease of their PCs.
    • I'm sure it would support some sort of WSUS [microsoft.com] like functionality. Now instead of calling home for updates it can call home for updates and to ensure you are paid up. All that is different is where it calls home to and what gets loaded on the server providing the updates. It seems entirely doable.

  • They abandoned this already (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 09, 2014 @01:39PM (#48556647)

    Sounds like... Technet. They essentially had this. Maybe the price points were wrong for them, or they didn't like some of the details, but they effectively had a subscription service. They shut it down. I loved it when it was available - $250 a year for essentially 3-5 licenses of every OS version, plus tools, plus applications, plus 1-3 server licenses of each version of the server. Heck, at $350 a year I wouldn't have even blinked. But for some reason they couldn't just shut up and take my money.

    • Sounds like... Technet. They essentially had this. Maybe the price points were wrong for them, or they didn't like some of the details, but they effectively had a subscription service. They shut it down. I loved it when it was available - $250 a year for essentially 3-5 licenses of every OS version, plus tools, plus applications, plus 1-3 server licenses of each version of the server. Heck, at $350 a year I wouldn't have even blinked. But for some reason they couldn't just shut up and take my money.

      This. And I'm not even a MS guy primarily. Especially for a small business / small developer, the price was chump change and the benefits enormous - to both the end user and MS. It's a bit like the recent Adobe subscription model - at a certain level, basically even low level professional, it's a great deal. For an individual / hobbyist, not so much. Hell, MS could have made several tiers in the system (again, much like Adobe is doing now) to keep different groups of people on board.

      Perhaps some MBA wi

    • They abandoned this already (Score:4, Interesting)

      by KingMotley ( 944240 ) on Tuesday December 09, 2014 @02:59PM (#48557463) Journal

      And a legal license to use them only for development or testing, and not to be used as your main computer OS. Guess you forgot that part.

  • Death Spiral

    This is how it starts (or at least continues).

  • Open Source is Winning (Score:3)

    by MarkvW ( 1037596 ) on Tuesday December 09, 2014 @01:44PM (#48556685)

    Adobe went subscription, and I'm done with them. If Microsoft does it, I'm done with them too.

    The next killer app is 3d printing & CNC milling software for the masses. If open-source takes that high ground, the dinosaurs are screwed.

    • I actually don't mind Adobe going subscription. Adobe being subscription opens up their software to a much larger user base. As a student, my school had Photoshop on a few machines, and I got to learn to use it. However, the 700$+ (at the time) price tag prevented me from having a recent copy of Photoshop on my own machine, so i was stuck with a ancient copy of Photoshop 7 that came with a scanner I got as a gift.
      At no point have I been able to afford shelling out the huge one time payment for a full vers
      • If you are a heavy user, this model can make sense, but if you are the occasional user, then they need to have some other approach like a per-use or per-hour fee.

      • Much of the subscription model depends on the details. Adobe got hammered because, originally, they put Photoshop in with everything else. A bit later, they realized there was a significant user base that wasn't interested in video or graphic arts and they created a Photoshop / Lightroom bundle for a pretty reasonable price. Of course, Adobe had always done that with the various disk collections so it was puzzling that they didn't start out very nuanced in the subscription world.

        Windows for $10 / year /

  • I feel like the subscription make sense with with high cost, high upgrade products. For example, the Adobe Create suite was brilliant to go to subscripotion. The master collection is a couple thousand dollars and is really only worth buying when it first comes out, because when they upgarde versions you stuck with the old stuff. However a subscription lets you get a for 50/month and you always have the latest goods.

    But with a core operating system, I could just seeing it being a major problem. Though e

  • Full-circle (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 09, 2014 @01:47PM (#48556725)

    Back in the 70's, businesses used terminals hooked to servers using leased software with maintenance contracts. This was clearly a scam that generated unjustified profits for some corporate titans who were then free to be mediocre and not innovative.

    Along came guys like Jobs, Wozniak and Gates who took on that old system and trashed it by saying to small business "you can own your system, have full control of your data, and pay for your software only once". Using this model, they defeated to old corporate giants while competing against eachother and bringing the consumer innovation and value. Now that they have become the corporate titans with near a monoply grip on the market, they have seen what the old titans saw: to keep growing your profits and keep your shareholders happy when you already have essentially all the available customers, you must find a way to get more cash out of your existing customer base. SHAZAM! The old server/data model is re-marketed as a big white fluffy "cloud", and the old abusive customer-wallet-milking billing model is a "subscription". They are just counting on newer, younger useres not noticing that this is all the vary same rip-off that they once insisted was evil.

    Time for somebody new to come along and repeat the 70's with "you can own your hardware, control your data, and only pay once for your innovative software..."

    This would be great news for Linux and BSD if only their developers would stop trying to re-create Windows2000, stop trying to adopt every crazy new fad before first fixing the most basic usability hurdles that keep these things from taking over the desktop: Linux printing? (still a crappy joke most users cannot make work) Linux audio? (still a screw-up without a single standard LINUX API) Linux desktop use of files on a server or NAS? (still a mess with things like Nautilus not able to reliably do it, when it SHOULD be totally plug-and-play and access to such files from all apps should be just as if they were local). As long as it takes a "guru" to make LINUX or BSD do ANY thing a normal user would want to do, it's a mistake to be adding sugary glossy eye candy and new features no matter how much deveopers would prefer to be doing this.

    • Along came guys like Jobs, Wozniak and Gates who took on that old system and trashed it by saying to small business "you can own your system, have full control of your data, and pay for your software only once". Using this model, they defeated to old corporate giants while competing against eachother and bringing the consumer innovation and value. Now that they have become the corporate titans with near a monoply grip on the market, they have seen what the old titans saw: to keep growing your profits and keep your shareholders happy when you already have essentially all the available customers, you must find a way to get more cash out of your existing customer base.

      Too bad I already posted - I SOOO want to mod you up!

      • And so it will be again.

        If there is a market for in perpetuity licenses that is not supported by the big guys, then the new little guys will work out of their local coffee shop (garages having long been turned into apartments for additional rent money) and create what needs to be created.

        The cycle of life will continue.

  • trust lost is difficult to regain (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ChipMonk ( 711367 ) on Tuesday December 09, 2014 @01:51PM (#48556765) Journal
    With the crazy UI shifts, the security debacles, the hunger for hardware resources, and the generally inconsistent (read: shitty) performance of the various Windows releases, Microsoft has made a lot more enemies than friends over the years. What's worse is that it took their Board of Directors so long to oust Steve Ballmer, who was at the helm during their "screw the customers" years.

    So now nobody likes Microsoft, nobody trusts them. The end users merely tolerate them, and even that has its limits. Such a transparent attempt to wring even more cash from their remaining customers is going to do nothing to win back former allies, while at the same time vindicating their critics.

    There were once those who cried "break up Microsoft!" during the anti-trust sentencing. If Microsoft decides to go with subscriptions, it may end up bringing about its own break-up with very little outside effort.

    • I have a high end application that is simply mandatory for work in my field and it only runs on Windows. It is bad enough if the application goes to a new version I don't want or need, but the force me to pay for & do it anyway or lose contact for needed files and support, but Microsoft can now make it worse with Monitization.

      If I don't pay a recurring fee for Windows, then I could be in jeopardy of being suddenly held hostage if someone hacks the MS servers and my version of Windows goes down.

      Sorry

  • Sure am glad I've moved all of my families systems over to Linux. I spent from about 1991 till 2010 cleaning up behind Microsoft's crap, at various companies, all the way from Windows 3.1 to XP.. Last company I worked for in 2010 before retiring is *just* now finishing up moving to Windows 7 from XP. They hadn't even started when I left in 2010. There is no way in hell I'd pay MS per month to use their crap... Linux does what we need (and more) and Linus doesn't have his hand out for $$$ nor do I have to ca

  • Perhaps the sole reason I use Windows is to use Adobe software. I do not have a choice in the matter, work/school requires that I run that software. Now I need an operating system to run that software. I cannot afford Mac, so Windows it is. But wait, Windows is not stable. I have to get antivirus, defrag, software/driver updaters and registry correction software on top of that. It costs a lot, but still cheaper than Mac. Forget the fact that there is a l o n g list of people asking Adobe to open a port to L

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Lumpy ( 12016 )

      " I cannot afford Mac, "

      Yes you can. Used i5's are affordable. Just go buy a used one. and unless you are buying $299-$599 bottom of the barrel laptops $899 is right in line with dell for a laptop.

      Heck for what you are doing with adobe software you can buy a used 4 years old 17 " macbook with an i7 dual core for under $800. and it will do everything you need with a 1920X1200 screen.

    • Oh calm down. You can always buy a two year old Mac Book Pro for a pretty reasonable price and run the entire Creative Suite on it no problemo. Yes, it's a bit bloated** (and what isn't) but disk space isn't exactly expensive these days. CS, at least on OS X, has been very stable of late. Hardly perfect, but nothing much is these days.

      I doubt Adobe will ever move over to Linux, just because it is too small a market and too fragmented. If they do, they are liable to price it up to big iron levels as m

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • The only way I'd do a subscription for Windows is if I could stop paying without my current version self-destructing. Honestly, I'd prefer they did away with "product activation" and "Windows Genuine Advantage" (or whatever they're calling it now) in favor of a simple subscription for updates.

    I think Microsoft would be smart to offer something like, "Pay $100/year, and get an always-up-to-date version of Windows, Office, antivirus updates, some basic MDM functionality, and 100 GB of OneDrive storage. Can

  • Reading the article and the source, they seem to just be guessing at this new strategy. Not news.

  • but isn't this a very stupid thing to do? I mean, one of the reasons MS can get away with windows is by hiding the actual cost to the consumer, since it's mostly bundled with the brand desktop or laptop you buy. At the end, most regular users really see windows as being free. Then in comes MS and starts waving invoices in front of their faces? People are going to start wondering if there's an actually-free alternative...

  • In most things I'm as against the subscription model as everyone else but I want a legal copy of Windows for doing occasional testing on. By occasional I mean really rare. I kind of need it but at the same time couldn't possibly justify the price of a Windows license for the tiny amount of use it would actually get in my home. I suspect that paying by the minute I would actually come out ahead! How much will about 30 minutes to an hour per year cost me?

    Currently I end up using my office's PCs to test thin

  • 'S ok (Score:3)

    by roc97007 ( 608802 ) on Tuesday December 09, 2014 @02:35PM (#48557201) Journal

    I'm just about done with Windows anyway.

  • CLIPPY: I see you're writing a letter. Would you like help? Please enter a valid credit card number.

  • The death of Windows. I won't pay subscription for an operating system. In fact I run Ubuntu so there's no need for me to ever use Windows again.
  • Since when /. pay for windows? Do you think MS would go with buying a $299 laptop with a $10/month subscription? They may go with 2 year subscription free. After that, your computer would stop getting updates. But if you pay $x (either a monthly or annual fee), you are getting windows as well as onedrive, skype, ms office, etc. I think this model works. I never paid a penny to MS directly until I saw the offer on office 365. I couldn't resist even it does not worth the money for MS office alone, but

  • The only, I mean *only* reason I put up with Windows is to run Lightroom and the Adobe CS suite. I started using Photoshop on a Mac (G4), switched to Windows because Apple and Adobe were feuding and I got tired of paying a premium for what was basically a generic Intel box.

    But Microsoft, not being content to leave a good thing alone when the got they bugs out of Win7 and concentrate on incremental improvements, royally screwed Windows as an OS, partially recovered from that (Win10, if it lives up to the hy

  • Their Software Assurance program has done almost exactly this for businesses for years. Bringing it to consumers seems perfectly logical to me.
  • In my career, I have seen Microsoft try 4 times to get a subscription model for Office working. Failed miserably every time. No-one wants to buy software that locks you into paying forever.

    So if Microsoft go down the subscription route for the operating system, they will kill themselves stone cold dead.

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